


Fall of Ha'Rar

by Darklordi



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Death, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Garthim Wars, Gelfling, Skeksis - Freeform, Vapra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darklordi/pseuds/Darklordi
Summary: Ha'Rar is falling under the assaults of the Garthims... despite facing the destruction of her clan, Brea has to save what could be the only hope for the future of Thra.
Relationships: Brea/Kylan (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Fall of Ha'Rar

Several trines ago now, the second battle of Stone-in-the-Wood had taken place and saw the first victory of the Gelflings against the Skeksis, and thus entering the age of resistance and the great war which would follow for the future from Thra.  
Ha'Rar, capital of the Vapra clan, was designated to become the main seat of the Gelfling resistance, in tribute to the late All-Maudra. Seladon, too marked by the loss of her sister Tavra and her mother All-Maudra, as well as feeling too guilty for her blind and odious behavior towards her people before, had decided to give up the crown. Although she was not as prepared as her other sisters and having spent most of her life studying in her library, it was Brea who was chosen by the clans to become the new All-Maudra and thus lead the resistance.  
First, Brea did not feel ready to take on such a role, not feeling strong enough, but she did remember the words of her late mother. It was time for her to assume her princess rank and the responsibilities that demanded it. For Thra's sake, she had to.  
During the few trines of her reign, Brea had done her best to lead the Gelflings clans, and despite the dark times of war, the young and new All-Maudra had managed to find light and love in her life. She had started a relationship with the warrior Kylan, of the Spriton clan, the latter sharing mutual feelings towards the Vapran princess since few times now. Their relationship was so important that they decided, one trine ago, to unite with each other through marriage. Of this new union bringing a glimmer of hope to the clans and strengthening their determination to fight ... but sometimes, a single hope was not enough ...  
Locked in her royal quarters, Brea, dressed in her elegant maudra dress as well as her tiara surrounding her head, remembered all these important memories. Showing a sad but calm air, she was leaning over a cradle, in which was, wrapped in a thin silk blanket, a baby gelfling, a little girl with silver hair and fair skin, emitting small moans innocent. Brea, her throat knotted with sadness, sighed and tenderly touched her daughter's hand. Born only three months ago, this child born from the union of Brea and Kylan had been for them a real blessing from Thra. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived when the latest news of the war reached the capital. Unfortunately, the Dousan and Spriton clans had been completely wiped out, and Stone-in-the-Wood, despite fierce resistance, had in turn fallen before the monstrous armies of the Skeksis ... a new type of soldier, devoid of soul and feelings, powerful and imposing ... the Garthims ... No Stone-in-the-Wood survivors had been seen, and Brea hadn't heard from her friend Rian, which made her fear the worst.  
As she felt her daughter's tiny little fingers coming to touch her hand out of curiosity, Brea looked up, turning her gaze to the large window. Outside, the cries and sounds of combat resounded, getting closer and closer to the palace. On this night, so clear and beautiful, the horror had descended on the capital Vapra. the terrifying hordes of Garthims had managed to cross the mountains and were now besieging the capital.  
Kylan, in order to protect his wife and child, left immediately with the paladins to lead the defense of the city. So far, he hadn't returned, leaving Brea in confusion and fear.  
Brea went to open the window, feeling the north wind caressing her face and walked slowly on the balcony. The vision that presented itself made her gasp with horror.  
Ha'Rar, so beautiful and proud, was now engulfed in flames and death. Many houses were now devoured by the flames, just as the large library where Brea had spent so much time. All these precious books, these archives, destroyed ... in the streets, chaos reigned. The Garthims, huge and monstrous, continued to advance more and more, crushing the troops of resistance fighters in their path. The Vapra citizens, men, women and children, were screaming in terror, panicking and trying to flee to save their lives. Many were grabbed violently by the giant Garthim tongs, only to be thrown into large cages carried by other Garthims. The Gelfling soldiers were ruthlessly killed by the Skeksis's monsters. Brea saw in horror dozens of Gelflings soldiers, mercilessly beaten and swept by the claws and the claws of the Garthims, who like a tidal wave, crushed the resistance like an insect.  
Several Garthims, after killing the paladins, began to destroy the golden gate of the palace in order to enter the courtyard. Seeing that the monsters had managed to reach the palace, Brea seemed to resign herself and returned to the room, next to her daughter. If she had to die, she wanted to be with her child, until the end.  
Suddenly, the door of the room opened suddenly and Brea, panting, saw with relief her love, Kylan, running in the room and coming to her. The young Spriton warrior in armor had fought violently, seeing his dirty face and the nasty wound he was carrying on his arm.  
_ "Kylan! Oh thank you, you're alive, I was so scared!" Brea cried as she came to hug him. Kylan hugged him too, but seemed rather in a hurry and with his only valid hand, took his wife by the shoulder.  
_ "Brea, all our strength has been destroyed! The garthims are about to enter the palace! You must flee with our daughter!!" Kylan intimated to her with distress and eagerness. In front of such words, Brea gasped.  
_ "No, you can't ask me to leave without you! I refuse!" Brea cried out in despair, crying the tears from her body. Kylan, keeping his calm, came gently to hug her with love and place a last kiss on her lips, forcing her to look him in the eyes.  
_ "You must do it ... for us, for our child ... for Thra and the Gelflings ... don't forget what mother Aughra told us, the day our daughter was born ..."  
Indeed, Brea had never forgotten that day. Mother Aughra had come to Ha'Rar, noting the birth of the child. In her great wisdom and infinite knowledge, Thra's mother had then announced the great destiny that awaited this child, and the importance it would have for the fall of the Skeksis and the destiny of this world.  
Forehead to forehead, Brea and Kylan closed their eyes, the young princess continuing to cry without being able to prevent it and wanting to engrave this last moment with her love, in her mind. Muffled noises and violent shocks against the bedroom doors were heard.  
_ "They're here! Leave, now!" Kylan ordered, turning to the door and preparing to distract, sword in hand. Brea, covering her head and upper body with a large silk shawl, hastened to take the crying baby in her arms.  
_ "I love you, Kylan ..." she sighed sadly and coming to kiss her love one last time.  
_ "I love you too ..." was his most sincere response. Although remaining strong, Kylan felt his heart break and tears come to his eyes. A giant black claw violently pierced the door, while behind, the horrible noises of the Garthims continued to resound. Without wasting any more time, Brea, preciously holding her child in her arms, ran to the balcony and spread her fairy wings, then, after a last look at Kylan, plunged into the void and flew smoothly towards the south . Flying over her city in flames, Brea was broken, but still continued to fly, helplessly witnessing the total annihilation of her clan, and perhaps even of the entire Gelfling race.  
Seeing his wife and child fly away into the skies and far from danger, Kylan felt some relief in his bruised heart. The doors crashed to the floor as the first three Garthims entered the royal chamber, groaning and waving their sharp claws.  
_ "FOR THRA!!" Kylan yelled with all the strength he had left, tears of sadness and anger mingling on his cheeks, and with the energy of despair, raised his sword and rushed at the monsters, who also rushed at him.

Brea continued to fly relentlessly in the dark night, without looking behind her and holding her daughter firmly. The broken young princess crossed the mountains and was now flying over the forest at the foot of the mountains.  
Unfortunately, horrible piercing cries disturbed his flight. Surprised, she was then surrounded and harassed by a swarm of winged creatures. The crystal bats. Other abominations created by the Skeksis, and generally serving as spies.  
Attacking relentlessly by creatures and wanting to protect her child at all costs, Brea had no choice but to descend and land between the trees. Seeing her disappear in the leaves, the bats gave up chasing her.  
Now stuck and having to flee on foot, Brea huddled at the foot of a tree trunk, cradling her crying daughter to calm her down.  
_ "Shhh ... everything is fine, mom is here ..." Brea spoke tenderly to her daughter. Brea looked up, listening to the night sounds of the forest around her, but also noticing the stealthy and flying shapes of the bats continuing to watch the area, and obviously trying to find it. Fleeing through the air was no longer possible, at least for the moment.  
Having no other choice, Brea then started to run as fast as she could through the darkness and among the trees of the deep forest. The weather seemed to lend itself to the dramatic situation as lightning suddenly exploded in the sky, announcing the arrival of a thunderstorm. Although caught by surprise by the lightning, Brea continued to run relentlessly, constantly looking behind her to make sure she was not being followed. Fear and panic grew in her. She had the impression to see with each explosion of lightning, garthims and skeksis behind each tree, closing on her to catch her.  
However, one of these visions did not turn out to be one when, after a lightning bolt, the imposing and growling form of a garthim appeared from behind a tree, in front of Brea who then uttered a cry of terror, tightening her arms around of her baby.  
Dominated by the desire to save her child, Brea flees as quickly as possible, passing the trees, the pools of water and the roots, and hearing behind her the sounds of heavy races of the monster chasing her.  
_ "Help! Someone! Help us!!" Brea yelled in desperation, without any answer coming. Other garthims appeared in their turn from several directions, gradually closing in on the princess like the living bars of a cage. Finding that she had nowhere to flee, Brea then made a decision that broke her heart even more.  
_ "Forgive me ..." she sighed, placing a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead, before running and placing her in a hiding place out of sight of the garthims, under the roots of a large tree.  
_ "Save us, my daughter ... save Thra ..." cried Brea before stepping back from the hiding place and leaving her daughter alone. Unfortunately, hardly Brea emerged from the hiding place when a Garthim's claw grabbed her roughly by the throat, lifting her from the ground and taking her with it, all under the gaze of the child, who fortunately, was not noticed by the monsters.

After several hours of travel between the claws of a garthim, Brea was released, falling on her knees on the floor of slabs which formed one of the roads of Ha'Rar. Rubbing her sore throat, the young Princess Gelfling saw all the horror around her. She had been brought back to Ha'Rar. The proud capital Vapra was now reduced to the state of smoking and silent ruins. Locked by hundreds in cages, the Vapran citizens were crying, knowing the fate that would await them once they arrived at the Crystal Castle. Brea was now surrounded by the Garthims, who had suffered few casualties in their ranks, now dominated the capital with force.  
Brea could also see some garthims gathering all the corpses of Gelfling soldiers in heaps. Brea gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, briefly seeing the corpse of her sister, Seladon, among the victims.  
_ "Seladon .... oh no ...." Brea breathed in despair and extending her trembling hand towards her.  
_ "Oh, poor little princess ... she refused to submit ... so I punished her as she deserved ..." then proclaimed a deep voice, monstrous and authoritarian, snatching a shiver of dread from Brea.  
The garthims in front of her moved aside, letting a large form pass through them, dressed in long dark clothes and carrying pieces of metal. A standing form, straight and proud, holding in his hands a scepter and sporting a curved metal blade as a crown. The Gelflings' biggest adversary ... he had come in person to witness the fall of the Vapran. Brea shudders at the sight of this enemy now facing him a few meters from her.  
_ "SkekSo ..." sighed Brea contemptuously.  
_ "Emperor SkekSo, you miserable larva!" roared the Skeksis monarch violently.  
_ "I will never recognize you as our emperor!" Brea said firmly. The emperor groaned and with a simple gesture of the head, ordered a garthim to come and grab Brea by the neck and bring her to him. Brea moaned in pain but did not struggle. The garthim let go and Brea fell suddenly on her knees, at the feet of the emperor who then dominated her by his size and stature. SkekSo then came to grab Brea by the throat and looked at her with his fierce look.  
_ "And you, you are absolutely nobody. Your pathetic reign and your shabby rebellion are nothing compared to my immense power. I am the one who will have annihilated the history of the Gelflings and the one who will reign eternally on Thra!"  
With these words, he dropped Brea to his feet, who then coughed and rubbed her sore throat.  
But as her vision returned to normal, Brea then noted with horror the presence of a particular prisoner, brought by force by a garthim.  
_ "KYLAN!!" Brea yelled in desperation, reaching out to him, but was held roughly by the emperor's hand, sneering cruelly.  
_ "BREA!!" Kylan gasped at the sight and tears in his eyes, struggled against his jailer to try to join his wife, in vain. Only a few meters separated them from each other, but the forces preventing them from touching were far too powerful. Seeing Brea and Kylan looking at each other with all the despair animating their looks, the Emperor SkekSo gave another sadistic laugh.  
_ "Awww ... such... pathetic ..." he hissed between his sharp teeth. Brea didn't even listen to him, her heart and mind too focused on her love still alive and she despaired of being able to touch him, even a second.  
Then, with another nod, the emperor gave a new order. Brea, eyes round with horror, uttered a cry when with a brutal and rapid movement, the garthim broke the neck of Kylan between the claws of his pliers, dropping the inert body of the young Spriton on the ground, under the gaze wiped out of Brea. Kylan's still open eyes had emptied of all spark of life ...  
_ "NOOOOOOOO!!" Brea screamed, cried, feeling all the distress and sorrow taking hold of her, as well as the feeling of helplessness, dominated by the ferocious and relentless laughter of SkekSo, visibly reveling in all this suffering.  
_ "A strong and clear message to those who one day would have the audacity to challenge me. May this serve as a lesson to all!!" the emperor loudly proclaimed firmly.  
Brea, kneeling in the dust, couldn't take her tear-filled eyes from the dead body of her beloved. Then, looking at her trembling hands, she then noticed Kylan's sword on the ground not far away. With sadness, added anger.  
Gritting her teeth and animated by the desire to challenge the emperor, Brea straightened, grabbing her husband's sword and in a howl of total despair, wanted to pierce the emperor in the belly. However, to his dismay, SkekSo easily stopped her arm, looking at her with a sly smile, as if he expected her to try to attack him. Brea was frozen in surprise.  
_ "Ah the essence of Gelfling ..." he growled with a macabre delight "... it rejuvenates me, gives me back my strength, sharpens my senses ... a real divine nectar ..."  
Then, in a rapid and brutal movement, SkekSo easily disarmed Brea and without her being able to react, felt the cold, sharp blade of the sword, held by the clawed hand of the emperor, come to pierce her in the chest. Overwhelmed with intense pain, Brea was paralyzed, feeling her blood soak in her dress. Cheeks dripping with tears, she saw the horrible face of the emperor approaching hers, looking her straight in the eyes and taunting her with his absolute triumph.  
_"I... won!" growled SkekSo, before removing the blade. Brea, breathing more and more difficultly, collapsed on the ground, beside Kylan. Feeling the cold stone under her and feeling her last strength leave her, Brea managed nevertheless, struggling against the pain, to move her arm to come and take Kylan's hand in hers and hold it until the end. Unable to resist her increasingly imminent death, Brea nonetheless leaned her last thoughts and her love towards her child, her dear daughter whom she had saved and who one day would save Thra from this nightmare ... while the eyes of Brea closed forever, the young Vapra princess and last All-Maudra, in her last breath, whispered one last time, the name of her beloved daughter ...  
_ "Kira ..."

After the capital Vapra was destroyed, the emperor SkekSo and his army of Garthims left, taking with them the victory as well as all the citizens, henceforth prisoners and doomed to be drained to the castle of crystal to ensure the conceited immortality of the Skeksis.  
In the midst of the still smoking ruins, but now deserted from all of Ha'Rar's life, a lonely, old and slow presence, advanced on the cobbled street. Mother Aughra, her face closed but showing great distress in her eye, contemplated this sad spectacle. Thra's mother moved a little further, until she found the corpses of Kylan and Brea, abandoned on the ground to be devoured by scavengers.   
Helping herself with her cane, Aughra knelt beside the two corpses, looking at them with an air more than pained and sincerely sorry for them, especially when she saw them holding by the hand, forever linked in life as in the death.  
_ "What a misfortune ... Aughra is sincerely sorry ... she would have liked it to be otherwise, but the song of Thra is thus made, as unjust as it is ... many sacrifices, in order to secure the future... Rah, yes, what misfortune... " said Aughra placing her wrinkled hand on Brea's lifeless body.  
Aughra then seized a small object hidden preciously in Brea's pocket, and which luckily, the garthims or the emperor had not found, having not taken the time to search the corpses. Aughra then looked with interest at the small shiny object that Brea had once found at the end of the second battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, and which she had since treasured, knowing the importance that this object would have in the future of Thra. The shard of the division, the missing piece of the crystal of truth. Now in possession of the shard, Aughra put it in her satchel.  
_ "Huge sacrifices for a tiny hope to survive ..." sighed Aughra.  
Eager to respect the sacrifice of Kylan and Brea, Aughra decided not to leave them at the mercy of scavengers. She placed their corpses in two anonymous tombs, side by side, at the top of one of the hills surrounding Ha'Rar, where they could rest in peace and return to Thra together, under the warmth of the northern sun. Aughra remained in front of the two tombs, granting a minute of silence in their memory. As she finished her minute of silence, she then turned, having felt a familiar presence come to her. UrSu, the masterof the mystics was there, advancing with his heavy, slow step, his long white hair covering his head and addressed a sincere nod to Aughra to greet her.  
_ "UrSu, my old friend ... I'm glad to see you in these dark hours ..." said Aughra sadly, still marked by events.  
_ "Shared pleasure, mother Aughra ... indeed, darkness has fallen on these places, but know that it is this darkness that will allow the light of new hope to be born ..."  
_ "But what are you doing here?" Aughra asked him, intrigued "... I thought that the mystics never left their hidden valley."  
_ "I had a good reason ..." said simply the mystic, revealing in his arms, something. Wrapped in a fabric blanket, a small gelfling baby moaned, a black-haired male with olive skin. Aughra looked surprised when he saw him.  
_ "But ... who is it? Where does he come from?" Aughra asked, looking at him carefully.  
_ "He is the only survivor of the Stone-in-the-Wood clan. His father, Rian, sacrified his life to protect him. I arrived in time before the garthims could take him ... his name is ... Jen ..."  
Aughra looked confused.  
_ "But ... could it be ... it's strange ... Thra's song didn't mention it ... I ... how could I not have seen it? ..."  
_ "I don't know, Mother Aughra ... it's up to you to find out ..." replied UrSu sympathetically, before continuing slowly but surely his way towards the valley of mystics, taking with him the baby gelfling to put him in safety. Aughra remained pensive, then took a last look towards the tombs of Brea and Kylan.  
_ "Bah ... after all ... even Aughra doesn't know everything ... who knows..." she sighed to herself.  
Then, now in possession of the brilliance, resumed her lonely path, towards her observatory, where she would wait for the day where finally, hope could be reborn and free Thra.


End file.
